Hammered: St. Mary dominates Onaway in every phase

September 02, 2008|By Jeremy Speer • Sports Editor

GAYLORD — The first two drives were all one needed to figure out the St. Mary football team Friday night against Onaway.

The first was an old-fashioned, ram-it-down-your-throat drive, which saw the Snowbirds march 68 yards down field in six plays, all by running the football. Senior Chris Churches provided the exclamation point with a two-yard touchdown.

The second, Onaway’s first with the ball, was a bone-jarring four plays, where the Cardinals were sacked twice, dropped for a five-yard loss and were forced to punt.

That total domination was the theme of the evening, as the Snowbirds put a 39-0 wallop on the Cardinals in the Ski Valley Conference and season opener.

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“We came out and scored and then we set the tone on defense,” said St. Mary coach Bob Cherwinski, who earned his first win as head coach. “We smothered them.”

It was an accurate assessment of a game where St. Mary held Onaway in the red (minus-18 yards of total offense) while being able to move the ball offensively however it saw fit.

The Snowbirds chalked up 334 yards rushing, including an hard-earned 187 yards from senior Arron Sitkiewicz.

But those yards were earned in the trenches, where the Snowbirds manhandled the Cardinals.

“Our lines on both sides of the ball came out and hit them,” Cherwinski said. “We came out with intensity. I’m proud of the whole bunch.”

Among the road-pavers on the offensive line were junior center Matt Churches, seniors Nick Purgiel and Zach Kline and juniors Tyler Loshaw, Pat Keck and Phil Keck.

Lawnichak was 5-of-9 passing for 49 yards, including a five-yard scoring strike to junior Peter Spyhalski, who snagged three passes for 38 yards. Senior Justin Rabish also made a nice 18-yard grab.

“We came out and played as a team,” said Chris Churches, a co-captain. “We all worked hard together in the offseason and it showed.”

Churches, also a linebacker, was a key cog in the powerful Snowbird defense, that made life near-difficult on Onaway sophomore quarterback Cory Grossman. The Snowbirds had eight sacks and 11 other tackles for loss in a performance that harkened back to the dominating times of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

It’s to that level that the Snowbirds are looking to build themselves back to after a disappointing 5-4 season in 2007.

“When we play together, we can accomplish anything,” Chris Churches said.